Tuesday, August 15, 2017

The family and I leave for Gencon tomorrow. I've spent today packing and finishing the last bits of preparation for the trip. I am very much looking forward to seeing my friends and my tribe again.

Along with several other people from Hex Games, I am running games again this year. Specifically, I am running three sessions of Hobomancers in Time. Most of the Hobomancer games I've run center around a small town where an evil man summons some kind of monster. I wanted something different this year, so I decided to go a little cosmic. This time the Hobomancers have to hop around time and space collecting cosmic tchotchkes to defeat VLHRG the Time Wyrm. This game was largely inspired by the improved time-traveling Hobomancer game Leighton Connor and I ran last year. I've built upon it significantly.

I crafted a Fantastical Time Spinner from an old Twister spinner. In each session, the hobomancers will have to travel to three different time eras. I have nine eras prepared, but I won't know which ones they'll travel to until the players spin the spinner. Nine different periods of history, nine different tchotchkes. There are some they might never go to. I'm excited by this random element.

Behold, the Fantastical Time Spinner!

Of course, with time travel there;s always the danger of Chrono-Distortion. In the case of distortion, the Hobomancer crew will have to roll on the table that I am going to share with you now:

1d12

Chrono-Distortion

Game Effect

1

The crushing ennui of the nonlinear traveler

All dice rolls made with 1d30.

2

The sublime competence of mediocrity

All dice rolls made with 1d16.

3

Behold! The Bell-Curve!

All dice rolls made with 3d6.

4

Mirror universe incursion

All players give their character sheet to the player on their left.

5

Now I am become the Song!

All Yum-Yums spends are twice as effective.

6

Windfall of Synchronicity

All players get 4 Yum-Yums!

7

This is the darkest timeline

+3 to all PCs’ Weakness scores.

8

Fluctuating visions of the future

PCs use a predetermined number array instead of rolling dice.

9

Reflection of choices unmade

PCs switch Job and Gimmick scores.

10

Memetic reconditioning

PCs rearrange Skill scores.

11

I sing the song of the Songlines

+2 to PCs’ Hobomancer Jobs.

12

The Song is silenced

-2 to PCs’ Hobomancer Jobs.

Fun right?

We're supposed to pull into Indianapolis on Wednesday, and we'll be there until Sunday. If you're going to Gencon too, feel free to hit me up on G+ or Twitter.

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Let's keep talking about Star Trek with Fate Accelerated. Any Star Trek game is going to need some badguys to torment your PC crew.

I put together a bunch of stunts to help make characters from some of Star Trek's iconic enemy aliens. I've also included the stats for mooks typical to each enemy. The Klingon and Orion stunts are re-posted from Part 1, Characters. Stats for enemy starhips can be found in Part 2.

Klingon Stunts

Because I am physically
stronger than a human, I get +2 to forcefully
overcome obstacles or create advantages when using brute strength.

Because I have several
redundant organ systems, I get a fourth stress
box.

Because I am a space
fascist full of plots and schemes, I get +2 to cleverly
create advantages related to lies and manipulation.

Klingon Warrior

To live and die for the
empire

Good (+2) at: Murder, Lies and Schemes

Bad (-2) at: Impulse control

Stress: OO

Romulan Stunts

Because I command
disciplined troops, I get +2 to cleverly
create advantages when issuing orders to characters under my command.

Because Romulan
disruptors are the deadliest in the galaxy, I
get +2 to quickly attack opponents at least one zone away.

Because everything is
going according to my carefully orchestrated pan, once per session I can automatically create an aspect (with one
free tag) representing some contingency I had previously prepared for.

Romulan Centurion

Those who march under
the Raptor’s wings

Good (+2) at: Disruptor fire, Working as a team

Bad (-2) at: Improvisational thinking

Stress: O

Gorn Stunts

Because I have sharp
claws and deadly teeth, I get +2 to
forcefully attack in close combat.

Because I have thick
hide and dense muscles, I get +2 to forcefully defend
against physical attacks.

Because I am cold
blooded and have a faint heat signature, I
have +2 to sneakily overcome or defend against being detected by sensors
and scanners.

Gorn Warrior

Giant, menacing
lizard-man

Good (+2) at: Intimidation, personal combat

Bad (-2) at: Moving quickly

Stress: OOO

Orion Stunts

Because, as an Orion female,
I produce irresistible pheromones, I get +2 to sneakily
attack receptive males in social situations (consequences from such attacks
will put the target further and further under the Orion’s sway).

Because I am a sexy
beast, I get +2 to flashily create advantages
in social situations where I use brazen physical seduction.

Because I am part of the
Orion Pirate Syndicate, once per session I can
locate an allied underground contact willing to give me aide and/or succor.

Reputation: What do people think about your ship. What have they heard about the ship and its crew? The pride of Starfleet; The scrappiest little frigate in Alpha Quadrant; Ragtag crew of misfits.

Approaches

A ship has no approaches of its own. Crew members will make all the rolls for their ship using their own Approaches.

Refresh and Fate Points

Like a character, a starship has refresh and Fate Points. These Fate Points can be used by any crew member to tag or invoke the ship’s aspects or aspects that have been placed on the ship or its crew. Refresh starts at 3 and can be reduced in order to purchase extra stunts.

Stress and Consequences

Like any character, the ship starts with 3 stress boxes and 3 levels of consequences. This is adequate for most cruiser-sized ships, the most common size of ship in Star Trek. Unusually large ships like a Borg Cube or the Doomsday Machine may have considerably more stress boxes, and maybe even an extra mild or moderate consequence available.

A starship starts with 2 stunts and can purchase more by spending Refresh.

Example Starship Stunts

Because our overcharged phasers are deadly at long range, our ship gets +2 to quickly attack another ship that is at least two zones away.

Because our quantum torpedos devastate unshielded hulls, our ship gets +2 to forcefully attack another ship that currently has at least one consequence.

Because our starship has many luxury accommodations, the crew gets +2 to flashily create advantages while impressing visiting dignitaries and other VIPs.

Because our ship has expert emergency engineering crews, once per session the ship can clear out all its stress and/or its mild consequence.

Because our ship has reinforced shields, it has an extra stress box.

Because our ship has an advanced sensor array, it gets +2 to carefully create advantages when discovering aspects on a planet or another starship.

Because our ship has point defense lasers, it gets +2 to quickly defend against torpedoes.

Because our ship has a Romulan cloaking device, it gets +2 to sneakily create advantages related to stealth or invisibility.

Example Starship

U.S.S. Avalon

Classification: Miranda class science vessel

Assets: Highly-adaptable deflector dish

Weakness: Doesn’t carry torpedoes

Reputation: Nothing escapes the Avalon’s eyes

Stunts

Because the Avalon has an advanced sensor array, the crew gets +2 to carefully create advantage when discovering aspects on a planet or another starship.

Because the Avalon is fast and scrappy, the helmsman gets +2 to quickly overcome obstacles when moving from zone to zone.

Refresh: 3

Stress: OOO

NPC Ships

Instead of statting out the complete bridge crew for an NPC ship, you can just give each important bridge position a score (captain, tactical, engineering, communication, helm). On the NPC ship’s turn, each position makes a roll using its score. Tactical makes attacks, and helm defends against attacks from other ships.

Bridge Position DescriptionsCaptain: Issues orders, rallies the crew, makes tactical decisionsTactical: Makes attacksHelm: Moves the ship around, avoids attacksEngineering: Buffs the ship, repairs damage, does weird things with the deflector dishCommunications: Runs scanners, analyzes data, and coordinates crew activitiesIf your PC crew has less than five players, you might want to reduce the number of stations on an NPC ship, so your players aren’t outmatched.

An NPC ship should only have a Reputation aspect if the specific ship is notable for some reason.

Example NPC Ships

ROMULAN WARBIRD

Classification:Vas Hatham-class cruiser

Assets: Powerful plasma torpedoes

Weakness: Overtaxed power core

Bridge Positions

Captain: +3

Tactical: +2

Helm: +2Engineering: +1

Communications: +1

Stunts

Because the Warbird has a Romulan cloaking device, it gets +2 to sneakily create advantages related to stealth or invisibility.

Because the Bird of Prey is equipped with disruptors, it gets +2 to sneakily attack while under the effect of a cloaking-based aspect.

Refresh: 3

Stress: OOO

KLINGON BIRD of PREY

Classification:D7-class cruiser

Assets: Burly workhorse of a ship

Weakness: Weak belly plating

Bridge Positions

Captain: +2

Tactical: +3

Helm: +1Engineering: +2

Communications: +1

Stunts

Because the Bird of Prey also has a cloaking device, it gets +2 to sneakily create advantages related to stealth or invisibility.

Because the Warbird is powerful and well-built, it has an extra stress box.

Because the Warbird is bristling with weapons, It gets a +2 to forcefully attack another ship under a “Focused Fire” aspect.

Refresh: 2

Stress: OOOO

GORN DESTROYER

Classification:Naga-class destroyer

Assets: Unusually powerful shields

Weakness: Slow to maneuver

Bridge Positions

Captain: +1

Tactical: +2

Helm: +2Engineering: +3

Communications: +1

Stunts

Because the destroyer’s deflector screen are incredibly powerful, it gets +2 to cleverly create advantages when creating “Increase shield strength” or similar aspects.

Because the destroyer has powerful, long-range disruptors, it can make ranged attacks from up to 4 zones away, instead of 3.

Refresh: 3

Stress: OOO

ORION SCOUT SHIP

Classification:Drell-class corvette

Assets: Incredibly fast

Weakness: Small and lightly armored

Bridge Positions

Captain: +2

Tactical: +1

Helm: +3Engineering: +1

Communications: +2

Stunts

Because the scout ship’s hull is made of high-density trititanium, it gets +2 to carefully defend or overcome obstacles when resisting detection from ships’ sensors.

Because the scout ship can enter combat at Warp Factor 10, it gets +2 to quickly defend against beam and torpedo attacks.

Refresh: 3

Stress: OOO

Space Combat

Unlike personal combat, in ship-to-ship conflicts all crew characters on one ship will take actions, then the crew an opposing ship will act. To determine the turn order, the captains of each ship make Clever rolls. The highest result goes first, followed by the second highest, etc.

A ship can only make one attack roll per round. This attacks is usually made by the tactical officer and opposed by the target ship’s helmsman. Other crew PCs make create advantage or overcome rolls and take other support actions. Typical bridge orders like “Reroute power from lise support to phasers,” “Execute defense maneuver Delta,” “Readjust shield harmonics,” are all create advantage actions. Once every character has taken an action, that ship’s turn is over, and we go to the next ship in the turn order.

A typical ship-to-ship exchange goes something like this:

The captain issues orders and rallies the crew, making create advantage rolls.

The helmsman moves the ship--one zone for free or he makes and overcome roll to move further. Alternately he might make Create Advantage actions to set up his crewmates. Communications, engineering, and other stations make Create Advantage or Overcome rolls to set up or remove aspects.

The tactical officer makes an attack. Hopefully he’ll have some nice new aspects he can tag for free. The opposing ship’s helmsman makes a defend roll.

And then we switch to the next ship...

Zones in Space

Each zone is about 100,000 kilometers (about half the distance from Earth to the moon).

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Who I Am

I am a long-time gamer who enjoys both new-style story games and old-style OSR stuff. I love drawing maps and goofy monsters. I help write, layout, and illustrate games for Hex Games, and I keep taking stabs at creating webcomics with mixed results. I talk about RPGs (and other things) at my Bernie the Flumph blog.